(CNN)The leaders of Israel's coalition government decided on Monday to dissolve the Knesset and hold early elections in April, nearly eight months earlier than required by law.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition governs with a razor-thin majority, and has been struggling to pass a new bill that would extend the military draft to ultra-Orthodox Jewish students.
At a press conference at the Knesset on Monday, Netanyahu confirmed "the heads of the coalition parties decided, in agreement and unanimously, to disperse the Knesset and call for new elections at the beginning of April."
The speaker of the Knesset, Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, announced the elections would be held on April 9.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the heads of the coalition parties decided "unanimously" to hold early elections in April.
Government battling difficulties
Netanyahu's government has been battling difficulties on several fronts. A military confrontation with Palestinian militants last month followed a botched Israeli operation in Gaza that killed one of its soldiers. Seven Palestinians, including a senior Hamas military commander, also died.
An eventual ceasefire prompted the resignation of the then defense minister, Avigdor Liberman, who denounced it as a "capitulation to terror."